I Became The Mother Of the Male Lead Who Lives With An Adulterous Man

The banquet was stopped.

Jane hurriedly fixed her skirt and crouched in the corner of the terrace. She was wearing the same clothes as the servants who worked at the banquet hall.

Rachel’s heart went cold.

She’d read the original novel, made all sorts of preparations, and prided herself on knowing everything about Theodore and Jane.

But Theodore was beyond her imagination.

‘I never thought they would use the crown prince’s birthday banquet as a place for a secret meeting.’

She didn’t think there was anything to be shocked about, but perhaps because she was embarrassed, her legs felt weak. Some unknown noble ladies standing nearby supported Rachel.

“… Theo.”

Theodore, now frozen in place, began to move again at the sound of Rachel’s soft voice. He hurriedly gathered up his clothes and looked for his wife among the crowd.

“Hey, Rachel. This is, I mean, that is… Uh, I just happened to be drunk…”

Before, he mistakenly thought that he’d gifted the items he’d given to his mistress to his wife, brazenly invited his mistress to their house, and even looked at his mistress as if he loved her right in front of his wife’s eyes, but now, he seemed to be embarrassed when he was actually caught.

Or is he just pretending to be embarrassed because there are so many eyes watching?

Rachel didn’t know when her mother-in-law had come running, but among the people was Berengella. She was so ashamed that she couldn’t come forward and reprimand Theodore, but instead stayed in the crowd, covering her face with her fan.

“… Hello, Jane. We meet again.”

The nobles began murmuring at Rachel’s slightly subdued voice.

Jane, who was shivering in the corner of the terrace, looked up.

“Uhh, Countess…”

“When you said you would give me Theo’s favorite perfume, at that time, I thought you were just a person who didn’t know etiquette. But now I see that you wanted to show off to me about your relationship with Theo.”

“I… I’m really sorry…”

“Sorry? Don’t say sorry.”

Jane was in tears.

“You showed up in front of me as if you were showing off and even committed an obscene act with my husband in a banquet hall where many nobles gathered. Did you really think you wouldn’t get caught? Or were you secretly hoping to get caught?”

As Rachel continued speaking, the whispers around her also grew.

“Count Elrosa is a man who knows no shame.”

“Oh my god, how can he do something like that with another woman while wearing cufflinks given to him as a token of love?”

“It’s absolutely obscene. A person like that is really a Count? He’s tarnished the honor of a noble family, he is worthy of that shame.”

“Who is that woman? She is a servant I have never seen before in the imperial palace.”

“Did you forget that it was the Count who prepared the banquet?”

“Oh my, are you saying that he prepared a birthday banquet for His Highness the Crown Prince just to bring that woman to the banquet hall? He’s got guts.”

Berengella’s face, beyond her fan, was pale.

Cian, who’d been standing at a distance the whole time, approached Theodore. He was holding a knife meant for food in his hand.

“Count Theodore Elrosa.”

Theodore was startled by the low voice and raised his head.

Cian held out the knife towards Theodore.

Rachel had a feeling of déjà vu. The situation seemed similar to when Graham threatened Theodore.

“It’s disrespectful to use His Highness the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet for personal purposes.”

“Your Highness…!”

“The Count will have to pay for insulting the royal family. The imperial family and the noble council will carefully consider what actions to take.”

Cian’s golden eyes sparkled as he spoke softly. He had a sharp aura now that he usually kept to himself and hid when dealing with people.

He humbled himself by pretending to be an informant for the guild, but he was also of royal blood. He was once considered to be more suitable for the throne than his older brother Sigar.

Theodore stood still, weighed down by Cian’s intimidating aura. He hesitated and tried to scramble backwards.

“Why are you running away?”

Cian knelt down on one knee in front of Theodore. After looking into the man’s frightened eyes for a moment, he raised the knife high and then stabbed it into the floor between Theodore’s crotch.

Gasp!

“Ahh!”

Theodore fainted, covering his vital parts with his hands. A pink cufflink tumbled onto the floor landing next to the knife.

As if he had no interest in someone who fainted, Cian picked up the cufflinks and wiped them with the sleeve of his shirt.

“Didn’t I tell you, it’s something I really wanted as well?”

Cian muttered, but the person he was speaking to couldn’t hear because he was unconscious, and left the terrace with neat steps. He stopped in front of Rachel and held out his hand to cover her eyes.

“It’s dirty. Don’t look.”

There was no ridicule or pressure in Cian’s whispering voice.

“…Your Majesty the Archduke.”

“Just turn around. I’ll take you to your carriage.”

She felt like a doll following orders. Rachel quietly turned her body, like a spell had been cast on her.

While people’s eyes were focused on Rachel and Cian for a moment, Berengella approached Theodore.

“Count, Count! Come to your senses! Count! Theodore!”

Slam!

The sound of Berengella slapping the face of Theodore, who had fainted, rang loudly behind them.

It’s a disaster.

It was a disaster.

 

‘Will you be okay?’

‘Why would I be surprised or shocked when I already know all of this?’

‘Because the human heart is not that simple.’

 

Cian was right. Rachel thought she wouldn’t be shocked because she already knew, but she was being arrogant.

Don’t people get emotional even by just watching a scene where the main character is cheating in an affair drama? Even though she’s known about it for a while, it was natural for her to be shocked to see her husband committing adultry right in front of her eyes.

She was being shortsighted. She felt worse than expected.

Rachel chewed her lip and walked unsteadily down the halls of the imperial palace.

The hallway was empty.

It was shortly after an intriguing scandal broke out in which the Count’s affair was discovered at the crown prince’s birthday banquet. The mistress and the Count were still stuck on the balcony. All the employees who heard the news must have flocked to the banquet hall.

She was lucky they didn’t run into anyone.

“Ma’am.”

“Ah!”

Rachel jumped when Cian called her.

She’d leaned her back against the wall for a moment, and though she didn’t flinch, her heart raced uncontrollably.

She was so distracted that she forgot she was with Cian.

“Your Highness.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No, no. I am… I’m not in the right state of mind.”

“I understand.”

“Sorry. You told me in advance that I might be surprised, but I still ended up like this.”

Her voice was trembling.

Cian, who was quietly watching Rachel, stretched out his hand.

Rachel’s shoulders jerked when she thought he was going to touch her, but his hand slid past her. With a snap, he grabbed an ornamental-looking hook and twisted, and what she thought was a wall cracked open and a secret door opened.

She was so embarrassed that the tips of her ears turned red.

“So, there’s a door in a place like this.”

“The imperial palace has many secret passages. I think it would be better to take a rest before continuing.”

She wanted to decline, but her legs were shaking so she couldn’t refuse.

“…Thank you.”

“I will call the carriage shortly. If you need hot tea or anything else, just let me know. I’ll take care of it for you.”

“No, I wouldn’t dare ask His Highness for anything. I’m honored that you’ve taken such good care of me.”

Cian shook his head.

“Of course I care. It’s half…… my fault for presenting the evidence in such a radical way.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Rachel walked hurriedly and sat down on the chair in the room that Cian had opened. Her tension melted away and her body went limp. She covered her face with both hands.

‘Let’s calm down. Calm down.’

This is what I wanted, what I needed. Now that Theodore’s affair is out in the open, all that was left was the divorce.

Of course, Theodore wasn’t an easy guy to deal with, and she had to be prepared for a variety of scenarios: when he found out and still refused to leave, when he refused to sign the divorce papers, and so on.

‘……Let’s just take some time and think about it.’

She let out a long sigh and suddenly something cold touched her cheek. She was startled and slapped the hand away. There was the sound of metal falling.

Cian, who was hit on the back of his hand by Rachel, took a step back.

“…I’m sorry. I called out to you, but you didn’t answer, so I applied the medicine on my own. You have a wound.”

“A wound?”

Only then did she smell the medicinal herbs. She realized that what had fallen onto the floor was a medicine box.

Now that she thought about it, she forgot to apply medicine to the wound she got while fighting with Theodore yesterday.

Cian cleared his throat and picked up the medicine box that had fallen on the floor.

“The imperial palace provides medicine in each reception room. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a troublemaker, so he often gets hurt.”

“Okay.”

“It’s been bothering me since I first saw it. How did the countess end up with such a wound on her face?”

“It’s not a big deal.”

She knew it was a big deal to have a scar on a noblewoman’s body, especially one that was visible. But with her husband and son at odds, she didn’t want to bring it up, so she kept her mouth shut. She might not care about Theodore, but she had to protect Graham.

When she touched her cheek, she found sticky medicine on her fingertips.

Cian was watching her slow movements, hesitated and then asked.

“…Ma’am. Are you okay?”

“Sure. It’s a minor wound that I forgot to apply medicine to.”

“Your husband’s affair.”

“Ah.”

Of course it was okay. It was something she already knew about, and since she had such clear and overwhelming evidence of the affair, there was no reason not to be okay with it.

She wanted to smile brightly as she spoke, but she had no energy left. Rachel smiled faintly and barely uttered a couple words.

“It’s okay.”

She was just a bit shocked by the scene, which was dirtier than expected.

As she was about to continue speaking, Cian’s finger pressed against Rachel’s lips.